Prince Sihanouk - The Model of Absolute Monarchy in Cambodia 1953 PDF

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4-1-2013
Prince Sihanouk: The Model of Absolute

Monarchy in Cambodia 1953-1970
Weena Yong
Trinity College, weena.yong@trincoll.edu
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses

Recommended Citation
Yong, Weena, "Prince Sihanouk: The Model of Absolute Monarchy in Cambodia 1953-1970". Senior Theses, Trinity College, Hartford,
CT 2013.
Trinity College Digital Repository, http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses/309
Monarchy in Cambodia
1953-1970
by
Prince Norodom Sihanouk
The Model of Absolute
Prince Sihanouk: The Model of Absolute

Monarchy in Cambodia
By
Weena Yong
Advised by Michael Lestz

Janet Bauer
Zayde Gordon Antrim
A Thesis Submitted to the International Studies Program

of Trinity College in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree
May 2013
For my parents,
MiOk Mun and Yong Inn Hoe,
My brothers,
KeeSing Benjamin and KeeHup Arie,
My sister,
Lenna XingMei
And to all my advisors and friends,
Whom have inspired and supported me
Every day.
Abstract
This thesis addresses Prince Sihanouk and the model of absolute monarchy in Cambodia
during his golden era. What is the legacy bequeathed to his country that emanated from his
years as his countrys autocratic leader (1954-1970)? What did he leave behind? My original
hypothesis was that Sihanouk was a libertine and ruthless god-king who had immense pride for
his country. He fought for his people and had strong good intentions. Instead, through
research, I discovered that there are many good and bad facets of Sihanouks past and the
political practices that marked his era as Cambodias supreme ruler. His legacy is mind-boggling
in its complexity and contradictions. This study brings to the surface a stronger understanding
of: 1) his attempt to consolidate support for his dictatorship by eliminating or side-line
opponents; 2) his effort to transform Phnom Penh into a spectacular capital that would
symbolize the new path he sought to blaze in contemporary Cambodian history; and 3) his
unsuccessful effort to keep Cambodia out of the war in Vietnam. The tension between
Sihanouks attempt to forge a neutral path for Cambodia and his own desire to control the
monarchy worked well. Fueled by this desire, Sihanouk lifted Cambodia up to stand on its own
two feet. He gave a sense of hope to Cambodians, as well as modernized a small nation.
Sihanouks commitment to remaining neutral and the Cambodians immense loyalty to this
Father-Prince, allowed Cambodia to build up so quickly in a short amount of time.
Acknowledgements
The success and final outcome of this thesis required a great amount of guidance and
assistance from many people and I am extremely fortunate to have got this all along the
completion of my work. Whatever I have done is only due to such guidance and assistance and
I will never forget to thank them, as I venture on to my future endeavors.
I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my mentor and friend throughout
the years, Professor Michael E. Lestz, also known as Professor Karl Schnrrbart, who has the
attitude and substance of a genius: he continually and convincingly conveyed a spirit of
adventure in regard to research and scholarship, and an excitement in regard to teaching.
Thank you for all the patience and advice, and for introducing me to Cambodia its beauty.
Research in Cambodia with Professor Dario Euraque, Professor Pablo Delano, and you in the
summer of 2010 was a trip an experience that I will never forget. Without your guidance and
valuable feedback, this thesis would not have been possible.
I would like to thank my advisors, International Studies Department Chair Professor
Zayde Gordon Antrim and Professor Janet L. Bauer for all the patience, and for all the assistance
through the workshops, and sitting down with me to give me feedback, and help me with the
direction of my Senior Thesis.
I would like to express my eternal appreciation and love towards my parents and family
who have always been there for me no matter what, and for all the unconditional supports and
patience. Thank you for always being ever so understanding and supportive.
I would like to express thanks to my friend, Hokchhay Tann for trusting in me and
opening up to me about your childhood memories of your hometown Pursat, Cambodia. You
always will be my younger dongsaeng. Lastly, I would like to thank Adrienne Poplawski, LanAnh
Tran, David Jung, Shuyang Zhu, and John Kim for staying up with me as I work on thesis. I will
always remember the sleepless nights working in the basements of both the library and the
Jones dormitory common room. We really are the three musketeers! Saving the world, with
one thesis at a time. Adrienne.
I will never forget where I came from, and who helped me get where I am today. Life is
an adventure, and we are all explorers!
Thank you
Table of Contents
Abstract .....................................................................................................................................................3
Acknowledgements ...............................................................................................................................4
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................7
Sihanouk before Independence ................................................................................................9
Sihanouk as a Beneficiary and also an Actor in End of Colonialism ......................... 11
Sihanouk as a Unifying Figure in the Fifties ...................................................................... 12
Neutralism in the 1960s .......................................................................................................... 13
Sihanouks Legacy ....................................................................................................................... 15
Chapter 1: Prince Sihanouks Emergence as an Autocrat following Independence .... 17
Chapter 2: Rebuilding Phnom Penh as an Imperial Capital ................................................. 31
French Protectorate of Cambodia ......................................................................................... 31
Sihanouk Establishes a New Capital in the Wake of French Colonialism ................ 34
The Reality Builder..................................................................................................................... 36
The Visionary ............................................................................................................................... 38
The Preservationist .................................................................................................................... 42
The Environmentalist ................................................................................................................ 44
The Paris of the East................................................................................................................. 46
Chapter 3: The Search for a 'Neutral' Path ................................................................................. 52
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 62
Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 65
Introduction
Prince Norodom Sihanouk passed away on October 15, of last year due to a heart attack
during his stay in Chinas capital, Beijing. He was 89 years old. His body was returned to his
homeland on February 4 of this year, where it was taken to the Royal Palace for a week of
official mourning. Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians surrounded the capital for the royal
cremation. After sunset that day, Sihanouks son King Norodom Sihamoni and widow, Queen
Mother Norodom Monineath, ignited the funeral pyre inside King Sihanouks crematorium. It
would mark the end of seven days of mourning. The $1.2 million temple-like, 15-story-high
crematorium was built next to the Royal Palace, just for this funeral, and was dismantled right
after.1 There has been an outpouring of grief for the late king, who since abdicated in favor of
his son Sihamoni in 2004 spent much of his last years in China for medical treatment.
The question most frequently asked with Sihanouks passing has been where does this
leave the Cambodian monarchy? Well, we shall see. Presently though, the monarchy does not
seem to be under threat. It is a largely symbolic institution that plays an extremely limited
political role under the dictatorship of President Hun Sen. Indeed, the monarchy seems to have
reverted into being the sort of legitimating agency it was under the French colonial system.
We may not be able to peer into the crystal ball and predict Cambodias future, but
what we can do is look back at the past. The more interesting question concerns Sihanouks
historical legacy. What is the legacy bequeathed to his country that emanated from his years as
his countrys autocratic leader (1954-1970)? What did he leave behind?
1
Dennis D. Gray, Associated Press, Cambodia Mourns as King-father Sihanouk Cremated, Time: World, February
4, 2013, assessed February 27, 2013, http://world.time.com/2013/02/04/cambodia-mourns-as-king-fathersihanouk-cremated/.
Sihanouk was the leader of a country that was a backwater under the LUnion
dIndochine. Events in Vietnamas the Vietminh waged their independence warwere at the
center of the regional and larger geopolitical stage after 1945. Sihanouk was attempting to
revive an already discredited institution (the monarchy) to serve as the binding agent of an
independent state after over nearly one hundred years of colonialism. Why was the monarchy
discredited? Because it was perceived by many Cambodians as an empty framework of rule
propped up by the French as the extracted resources from Cambodia.
A Cambodian nationalist and political leader, Prince Sihanouk was born in 1922, and
educated in France. It was approximately 71 years ago, when Prince Sihanouks first coronation
took place on Oct. 28, 1941 at the Preah Thineang Dheva Vinnichay Mohai Moha Prasat or
"Throne Hall". I still remember the beauty of the 19th century palace Khmer style built by the
French for Cambodias monarchs after colonization began and the capital was moved to Phnom
Penh (1866). Clearly, the palace was designed to remember a distant and intangible past. The
smell of incense rushed through my nostrils as I entered the Royal Palace. Gold angel-like
Apsara dance figures hang around the ceilings. Stupas (chedei), towering spires (prang prasat)
and mural paintings, such as frescos of the Reamker were laid out all around the buildings.
Inside, young monks in golden robes were chanting in unison. The palace was a piece of
architecture designed to magnify the role of puppet Khmer monarchs within the Union of
Indochina, but after independence it became more the seat of the absolutist government rule
by Sihanouk.
This research study poses the question of what Sihanouks historical legacy was. The
central focus of this study is of Sihanouks career after the colonial era, before the right-wing
military coup toppled Sihanouk in 1970. The bulk of my information for this essay is derived
from Sihanouks memoirs and articles, monographs and articles on Cambodia by specialists on
this period, as well as a recent book by Cambodias royal architect Vann Molyvann. Looking
back at Sihanouks legacy, despite mixed reactions (and his backing of the Khmer Rouge), how
has he been important to Cambodian identity and heritage? So many people came to pay their
last respects at his funeral; hence Sihanouk must have impacted their lives in some way.
Sihanouk before independence (1941-1953)

Sihanouk was only 18 years old, and the French believe that he would make an ideal
nominal ruler; hence, they elevated him power after the death of maternal grandfather, King
Sisowath Monivong in April 23, 1941 as Cambodia was administered by a Vichy admiral. In his
review of the postwar years, Charles Meyer characterized Sihanouk as someone had a youthful
ardour in his search for ways to apply a democratic system to his country, but also as someone
who spent the greatest part of his time to worthless activities and above all his affairs of the
heart.2 Until independence Sihanouk was an ineffectual playboy royal. For long periods
Sihanouk was content to turn his back on the world of politics and to find solace in women,
sport and the cinema. The attraction of the last, dating as it did from early childhood, suggests
a personality deeply attracted to idealized solutions, with right triumphing over wrong and the
hero over the villain, and with everything ending happily. The real world, as well all know, was
a much more complex, troublesome place. It was not until 52-53 that he underwent his
transformation from pleasure-loving king to wily and determined politician. He then led and
Osborne, Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness, 53.
secured Cambodias independence in 53 after nearly a century of colonial rule. Two years later,
he abdicated in favor of his father, becoming prime minister and foreign minister instead.
What caused his transformation?
During my excursion to Cambodia, someone told me that as a young man, Sihanouks
advisor once encouraged him to see his country. French officials arranged for the young prince
to travel to areas throughout Cambodia, including, as Sihanouk proudly recounts, on elephant
back from the Tonle Sap to Koh Kong.3 He identified with Cambodias poor and did much to
increase their feelings of self-worth and their identification with the state. By stirring their
political consciousness, Sihanouk also hastened his own demise.4 How so? Did his eyes open
and start to sympathize for his peoples needs and interests? Did this trip around Cambodia on
an elephant influence his thinking and leadership style? Was his change in heart, selfless
gestures or someone used to enjoying his life? We can never be sure.
It was not until 1952-1953 that he underwent his transformation from pleasure-loving
king to wily and determined politician. He spent most of his time behind high walls of the
Phnom Penh palace. Sihanouk saw France as playing a protectors role, most particularly
against the ambitions of Vietnamese revolutionaries, but also against Thailand.5 During this
time, Sihanouk withdrew from confrontation, a sort of psychological retreat. For long periods
he would disregard the world of politics, and sought comfort in women, filmmaking, and sports.

th
David Chandler, A History of Cambodia, 4 Edition (Boulder: Westview Press, 2008), 243.
5
4
10
Sihanouk as a Beneficiary and also an Actor in End of

Colonialism (1945-1953)
Sihanouk craved for adulation and convinced that he alone had the foresight, the
wisdom, and the semi-divine power that comes with the possession of great merit, to guide and
modernize his country. The French were losing their war in Vietnam and sought to maintain a
different sort of relationship with a Cambodia to be freed from direct French influence. Taking
advantage on the French weakness, the Japanese government of Emperor Hirohito replaced the
French, and on March 9, 1945 decided to dissolve the French colonial administration. Germany
was on the verge of collapse and the Free French Forces of Charles DeGaulle were firmly in
control of Paris and all of France. Soon after the surrender of the Japanese, due to US dropped
atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, a new Cambodian government was established with
Son Ngoc Thanh as Prime Minister. Thanh was a longstanding opponent of Sihanouk. The
French then returned to occupy Cambodia in October of 1945 and Son Ngoc Thanh was later
arrested for collaborating with the Japanese and sent into exile in France.
On March 1953, Sihanouk went to France and asked the French President to grant
complete independence to Cambodia. The French government turned a deaf ear to Sihanouks
demand and instead accused him of being too alarmist. They threatened to replace the
Sihanouk if he continued to be uncooperative. The whole Indochina soon was in turmoil.
Sihanouk, Lon Nol, and the Khmer Issaraks resisted and fought the French. On July 3, 1953, the
French declared they were ready to talk. Sihanouk insisted on his own terms, demanding total
control of Cambodia in four main areas: National Defense, Police, Judiciary, and Finance.
11
On November 9, 1953 Cambodia gained its independence from France. Sihanouk

believed that he secured Cambodia's independence from French colonial rule, and sought to
protect his country from the repercussions of Great Power rivalries, which were France, Japan,
Vietnam, and the United States. Regardless, independence enabled Cambodia, at Geneva in
1954, to escape division into separate areas of control for government and insurgent forces,
such as in Laos.6
The pace of economic progress had been hindered under the French rule. As the
country emerged into independence, problems of irrigation and industrial development, of
education and health, communications and transport, and military maintenance, which had
been long neglected, needed much attention. Thus, the country had to rely on outside aid.
Even after the country became free, the governmental tax receipts fell substantially.7 The
United States removed a heavy burden on the national budget by undertaking to meet the cost
of maintaining and equipping the Cambodian army.8
Sihanouk as a Unifying Figure in the Fifties (1953-1960)

Sihanouk was idolized by many Cambodians, especially in the countryside, as semidivine. To him, his decisions and policies were always for his nations people. He had a strong
sense of pride and was a huge romantic. In Phnom Penh and other major provincial capitals,
post-Independence period liberated a flood of creativity in arts, music, and architecture. King
Chandler, A History of Cambodia, 277.

Norodom Sihanouk, Analyse de la Conference du Prince Norodom Sihanauk Kampot (Phnom Penh, April 6, 1956),
6.
8
V.M. Reddi, A Study of Cambodia's Neutralism, vol. 2, no. 2 of International Studies, 201, Sage Publications,
January 1960, assessed February 28, 2013, http://isq.sagepub.com/content/2/2/190.full.pdf.
7
12
Sihanouk played a major role in encouraging and mentoring development, planning, housing,
and seeking a cosmopolitan lifestyle in Cambodia.
Under the guidance of Sihanouk, not only were new schools put in place, but he helped
rebuild the Capital city, Phnom Penh through a new golden era of architecture. This new
movement New Khmer Architecture was often characterized as a mix of Bauhaus (European
post-modern architecture) and traditional elements from Angkor (Ancient Cambodia). In 1956,
Vann Molyvann, who studied in the cole Nationale Suprieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, was
nominated as chief national architect by the King. Molyvann supervised the design and
construction of new towns such as Tioulongville (Kirirom) and Sihanoukville (Kompong Som)
and important town plans such as the Bassac development in Phnom Penh. Molyvann also built
cultural facilities such as the National Theatre Preah Suramarit and the Exhibition Hall
neighbored with large housing experiments, Council of Ministers building (demolished 2008),
the Preah Suramarit National Theater (demolished 2008), and National Sports Complex which
was once the most prized arena in all of Southeast Asia. It was through initiatives such as these,
which helped improve education and health in the wake of colonialism, and the so-called
process of nation building.
Neutralism in the 1960s

King Sihanouk often stressed that the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) had
diverted his country into a nation of beggars, dependent on foreign donors for handouts. In
1963, Sihanouk tried to keep his country neutral during an escalating conflict between the U.S.backed South Vietnamese and the North Vietnamese. Hence in an effort to maintain this
13
neutrality, he decided to cut off all economic and military support from the U.S. In that same
year he would nationalize all Cambodian imports and exports. Historian David Chandler comes
to the defense of Sihanouk's foreign policies, saying they "seem more defensible than his
domestic ones."9 In November 1963, Sihanouk broke off the U.S. military aid program, which
then put a 15 percent dent to the national budget. His motives in cutting off U.S. aid were
related to his desire to stay out of the Vietnam War and to maintain good relations with
members of the Communist bloc.10 Sihanouk's foreign policies consisted of: a friendship with
China, a drive to get as many foreign patrons as possible, and a secret alliance with North
Vietnam.
In July 1963, Pol Pot and most of the central committee of People Republic of
Kampuchea left Phnom Penh to establish an insurgent base in Ratanakiri Province in the
northeast. Pol Pot had shortly before been put on a list of 34 leftists who were summoned by
Sihanouk to join the government and sign statements saying Sihanouk was the only possible
leader for the country. Pol Pot and Chou Chet were the only people on the list who escaped.
Soon after, Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, sought to establish an agrarian society unburdened by
social hierarchies. Trying to restore relationships with the west, Sihanouk allowed USA and
South Vietnam to enter Cambodia in their fight against communists. An adviser to King
Norodom Sihamoni, Son Soubert, said that Sihanouk's shift in alliances were not the sign of a
character flaw, but merely a survival tactic:
Ly Chheng, Yannek Smith, and Huy Samphors, from Rutgers Newark University, Sihanouk Era: Prince Sihanouks
Genocide, from Cambodia: Anatomy of a Genocide, Google Sites, assessed February 18, 2013,
https://sites.google.com/site/anatomyofagenocidecambodia/timeline-1/.
10
14
"One thing they usually accused him of is he is a mercurial prince. But to defend Cambodia, you
have to react to the international events," Human Rights Party deputy president Son Soubert
wrote. We are a small country. We have to turn with the wind.11
There is no doubt that particularly during the 1960s, educational opportunities
expanded in Cambodia. Prince Sihanouk invested heavily in education, spending 20% of the
national budget. He had an ambivalent attitude towards formal learning. No universities
existed in Cambodian in 1955. In the thirteen years between the founding of Sangkum in 1955
to 1968, there was a huge increase dramatically in numbers of educational institutions and
students under Sihanouk.
Sihanouks Legacy
Through absolute rule, King Sihanouk fought and protected to maintain control and seek
neutrality for the Cambodian people, even during times when the nation felt the pull of
hegemonic powers due to the suppression of dissent and political opponents, such as the
Vietnamese. When the Vietnam War threatened to engulf the region, King Sihanouk tried to
carve out a neutral role for Cambodia, siding neither with the United States nor the
Communists. King Sihanouks past political decisions and unprecedented power as sole ruler of
Cambodia after Independence constitute today as precious testimonials and give invaluable
insights into Cambodias history, and recreate a fascinating and devastating period in Asian
history from 1954 to 1970. Criticized throughout his life for these dramatic shifts in allegiances,
King Sihanouk said he followed only one course in politics: the defense of the independence,
11
Anthony Kuhn, King Sihanouk, An Artist And Architect Of Cambodia, NPR, October 15, 2012,
http://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162955076/king-sihanouk-an-artist-and-architect-of-cambodia.
15
the territorial integrity and the dignity of my country and my people. Although King Sihanouk
ruled Cambodia with overwhelming authority and an iron-fist, he was also driven to re-build the
Capital Phnom Penh, and improve education and health in the wake of colonialism for his
nation. In the subsequent chapters, we will study Sihanouks attempts to modernize a nation
within less than twenty years post-independence.
16
Chapter One
Prince Sihanouks Emergence as an Autocrat following

Independence
I reserve the right to act according to my consciousness as a
Cambodian and in the behalf of what I believe to be the medium-and longterm interests of my country and my people.
Prince Norodom Sihanouk, March 1970
12
On March 12, 1945, during the Japanese occupation, Prince Sihanouk declared for
Cambodias independent, anti-colonial government. Two months later, Son Ngoc Thanh (19081977), became the first prime minister to the new regime. Thanh was a republican, right-wing,
antimonarchist, socialist, as well as a longstanding opponent of Sihanouk. This government was
deposed by the Allies in October. Many of Son Ngoc Thanh's supporters escaped and continued
to fight for independence as the Khmer Issarak. The Khmer Issarak (Free Khmers), an antiFrench, Khmer nationalist political movement, was backed by the government of Thailand. By
early September, the Japanese had surrendered to the Allies and brought the hostilities of
World War II to a close. With the restoration of French control in October, he was later
arrested, and sent into exile first in Saigon and then in France.13 Sihanouks uncle, Prince
Monireth Sisowath, succeeded Thanh as Prime Minister of Cambodia, during the French
Protectorate Period, from October 17, 1945 to December 15, 1946.
On January 7, 1946, Monireth, Sihanouk, and delegates selected from the pro-French
bureaucratic elite, signed a modus vivendi. Under the terms of the agreement, France was to
12
Norodom Sihanouk and Wilfred Burchett, My War with the CIA: The Memoirs of Prince Norodom Sihanouk
(Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Press, 1974), 26.
13
Ben Kiernan, How Pol Pot Came to Power: A History of Communism in Kampuchea, 1930-1975 (London: Verso,
1985), 51.
17
return to a Cambodia that was no longer styled a protectorate, but rather an autonomous
kingdom within the French Union. 14 Although France was to control the key areas of defense
and foreign affairs, the modus vivendi document recognized that the king would have authority
in internal affairs. In addition, this agreement prompted for further negotiations that needed to
take place. Thus, a Franco-Cambodian commission was set up to draft the constitution. Among
key components of the initial draft were provisions for a limited male suffrage, and allowed, for
the first time in the countrys history, the emergence of political pluralism. 15
On March-April of 1946, two principal parties took shape, each headed by members of
the royal family: Democratic Party (Krom Pracheathipodei) and Liberal Party (Kanaq Sereipheap;
literally, Freedom Group). The Democratic Party, led by young Prince Sisowath Yuthevong
(1912-47), drew support mostly from the middle class of the bureaucracy, which included
teachers, students, young civil servants, the Buddhist monastic order, and associates of Thanh.
The Democrats took care to nominate candidates who commanded widespread local support,
often choosing former monks or achar.16 The Democratic Partys slogan was "Peace,
Independence, Discipline and Courage," and its electoral symbol was an elephant's head and
three lotus flowers.17 It was the first political organization in Cambodia was oriented toward
the future, and the biggest force representing Khmer nationalism.18 Whereas, the Liberal party,
14
David P. Chandler et al., In Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern History, edited by David Joel Steinberg (Honolulu:
University of Hawaii Press, 1987), 374.
15
Osborne, Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness, 50; see also Chandler et al., In Search of Southeast Asia,
374.
16
David P. Chandler, The Tragedy of Cambodian History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), 31-32.
17
Marie Alexandrine Martin, Cambodia: A Shattered Society, trans. Mark W. McLeod (Berkeley: Univ. of California
Press, 1994), 51.
18
David P. Chandler, Brother Number One (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1999), 22.
18
led by Prince Norodom Norindeth (1906-1975?), tended to be more conservative, less

republican, more pro-French, and promised to uphold the status quo.19
The elections showed the Democratic Party capturing two-thirds of the seats for the
consultative assembly. However its ideals of independence and democracy proved very
difficult to realize due to the combined opposition from the French, Sihanouk, and the
traditional economic elite. By 1946, still only 24 years old, Sihanouk had also fathered six
acknowledged children.20 In July 1947, Yuthevongs premature and allegedly mysterious death
in a French hospital was a blow to the Democrats, but they again won easily in the December
elections, occupying fifty-four of the seventy-six seats in the newly formed National Assembly.21
For the remainder of the 1940s, the Democrats presided over a series of regimes which
were powerless vis--vis the French and increasingly quarrelsome with Sihanouk, whose own
advisers were drawn from the bureaucratic elite and from relatively right-wing political
groupings not represented in the Assembly." 22 The Democratic Assembly had opposed the
commitment of Khmer troops to the French, in their struggle against the Viet Minh in Vietnam
itself, pointing out that Cambodia must live at peace with its neighbors.23 Sihanouk resented
the Khmer Issarak and the Democrat Party criticisms of his subservience to the French. They
aimed to expel the French colonial authorities from Cambodia. What Sihanouk initially feared
was the political threat they represented to the stability of the social hierarchy, but increasingly
he also soon came to agree with their goal of full-fledged independence from France. Thus, on
19
James A. Tyner, The Killing of Cambodia: Geography, Genocide, and the Unmasking of Space (Hampshire,
England: Ashgate Publishing, 2008), 39; see also Chandler et al., In Search of Southeast Asia, 374.
20
Osborne, Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness, 53
21
Kiernan, How Pol Pot Came to Power, 57.
22
Chandler et al., In Search of Southeast Asia, 374.
23
19
September 1949, Sihanouk, presumably under French pressure, dissolved the National
Assembly. The Democrats had angered Sihanouk and local conservatives who preferred to put
law and order before either parliamentary government or independence.24
In 1951-2, Sihanouk became more popular, more active, and more self-confident.25 In
1952, Sihanouk campaigned to be appointed the crown. He won under a Royal Crusade for
Independence born on a wave of popular feeling for him.26 Additionally, as he moved closer to
genuine power, he overrode the 1947 constitution. He claimed that within his rights because
as King, he had promulgated the document.27 That same year, Sihanouk received a critical open
letter from several leftist Cambodian students in Paris, among them Ieng Sary, Saloth Sar, and
Hou Youn (but not Khieu Samphan). They gained notoriety, and in the letter, they called
Sihanouk the strangler of infant democracy.28 In 1953 Sihanouk attempted to oust the Viet
Minh from Cambodia. By the middle of 1953, more than half of the countryside was effectively
under insurgent control, and the military was crumbling. Dissatisfied with the pace of French
concessions, Sihanouk embarked on what he called a crusade for independence, aimed at
embarrassing the French, by calling attention to their recalcitrance in public statements he
issued while traveling abroad. He used unconventional diplomatic methods. The young 31year-old monarch traveled to a number of foreign capitals, displaying a zestful capacity for
public relations, which he has utilized, often to excess, in his international dealings ever
24
Michael Vickery, Looking Back at Cambodia Westerly, 4 (1976): 16.

Ian Mabbet and David Chandler, The Khmers (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1995), 239.
26
Hlne Cixous, The Terrible but Unfinished Story of Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia, trans. Juliet Flower
MacCannel, Judith Pike, and Lollie Groth, intro. Juliet Flower MacCannell (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,
1994), xxvii.
27
Mabbet and Chandler, The Khmers, 239.
28
Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, Cambodia: A Country Study, edited by Russell R. Ross, Area
handbook series, research completed December 1987, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990),
39; see also Sihanouk and Burchett, My War with the CIA, 160.
25
20
since.29 The emergence of independent Cambodia succeeded, as Sihanouk later put it,
without a shot being fired.30
To make his country completely independent, Sihanouk wanted to free self from the
binding pattern of royal privileges and rituals, which he found suffocating, and instead he
wanted to grow closer to his people and create the ideal conditions for building a true
democratic regime.
Now that independence had been gained, the next problem was to
see that it was maintained The warring political factions within
Cambodia wanted to make of me a mere figurehead who could be ignored
in their wrangling I also wanted to stand on my own feet politically and
measure myself against my opponents in the political arena instead of
basing my authority on my heredity.
31
His first concern was not to owe his throne to any foreign power, including France, and
to seek his legitimacy through the people.32 Much of Sihanouks success was in the elimination
of the weak parliament, and on November 9, 1953, France granted Cambodia complete
independence, including command over its armed forces and right to send diplomats abroad.
This gave Sihanouk a mandate to rule without political parties. However, it was not until a year
later that Cambodia gained economic and monetary independence from France. 33
In 1954, the formation of the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was formed,
but instead of On May 8, 1954, the Geneva Conference on Indochina convened. Represented
at the conference were the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, the Chinese
29
Michael Leifer, Cambodia: The Search for Security (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1967), 21.
Sihanouk, War and Hope, xix.
31
Sihanouk and Burchett, My War with the CIA, 159.
32
Sihanouk, War and Hope, xx.
33
Helen Grant Ross and Darryl Leon Collins, Building Cambodia: New Khmer Architecture 1953-1970 (Bangkok: The
Key Publisher, 2006), 43.
30
21
Peoples Republic, Laos, the Republic of Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and
Cambodia. On July 20 at midnight, Nhiek Tioulong (Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the
Geneva Conference, later became the first General of the Royal Cambodian Army) concluded a
bilateral Armistice Treaty with Ta Quang Buu (Commander-in-Chief of the North Vietnamese
Army), whereby the latter pledge to withdraw all its troops from Cambodia within a four-month
timescale.34 At the conference, Cambodia emerged as a winner, at least in anti-Communist
terms, partly because its delegations was more independent that those of Laos and southern
Vietnam, partly because the military situation in Cambodia still was not as favorable to the
Communists as it was elsewhere in Indochina, and partly because its delegation stood up to the
Great Powers at the conference, insisting on getting their own way on several issues.35
Agreements reached at the conference required Cambodia to conduct elections before
the end of 1955. Sihanouk then mandated three motions, which placed him even more firmly
in control by the end of the year. These three essential arrangements changed the face of
Cambodian political life.
First, Sihanouk held a popular referendum on his crusade for independence on February
7, 1955. One ballot, colored white, had his portrait on it and the word yes. 36 The other was
black, with the word no inscribed on it. Balloting was open, and over a million citizens
handed white ballots to the government officials who manned the voting tables. According to
34
Tipram Poivre, The Adoptive Father: An Unusual Portrait of King Sihanouk of Cambodia (Syllabaire Editions, 2012)
Kindle edition.
35
36
22
official statistics, fewer than two thousand had the temerity to oppose the king. The exact
numbers were 925,667 Yes (99.8%) and 1,834 No (0.2%).37
Second, Sihanouk proposed to amend the constitution so as to grant sweeping
executive powers to himself. Because he encountered strong opposition from the elite, in a
tactical master-stroke, he abdicated the throne so as to enter politics as a private citizen.38
His abdication even took his parents by surprise.
On 2 March 1955, I sent an envelope to the Phnom Penh radio station
together with instructions that it be opened at noon, and the recorded
tape inside be play during the midday news. In this way the Cambodian
people learned, to their great amazement, that I had renounced the
throne I had made the decision entirely on my own, and taken no one
into my confidence. According to the 1947 constitution, in such a case the
Crown Council must elect a successor from among the male descendants of
King Ang Duong.
39
Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father H.M. King Norodom Suramarit in order to
devote himself to political affairs. Suramarit was an experienced civil servant with no political
ambitions. According to one report, Sihanouk forced the kingship onto him by threatening to
leave the country if Suramarit refused the honor.40 This decision of turning the throne to his
father, enabled Sihanouk to engage in politics directly without any limitations that would have
imposed on him as a monarch. He entered the domestic political fray with all the prestige of a
king while insisting that he was a simple citizen.41
37
Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz, and Christof Hartmann, Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II (Oxford,
Oxford University Press, 2001), 68; see also Sihanouk and Burchett, My War with the CIA, 158.
38
39
40
Norodom Sihanouk, Souvenirs doux et amers, 216 ff. Sim Var interview, November 1987.
41
Milton Osborne, Phnom Penh: A Cultural History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 123.
23
The palace is stuffed full of a hierarchy of court mandarins and

intriguers. They are like the blood-sucking leeches that attach themselves
to the feet of the elephants. Being a prisoner of protocol, fawned on by all
sorts of timeservers awaiting my favours, was something I detested I
remained the traditional God-King. I summed up all this up in my
broadcast adding: This is why I took the definite decision to abandon the
throne, its pomp and pageantry, in order to devote my whole time and
energies to serve the people and their well-being.
42
In early April, Sihanouks final move was announcing the foundation of national political
movement, the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, also known as the Peoples Socialist Community
(literally "organization devoted to the commoners"). Sihanouk assumed leadership of the
newly formed political party. It was a mass movement that was never a political party as
Sihanouk repeatedly insisted and instead was designed to incorporate all Cambodians
regardless of political sympathies.43 Despite its apolitical image, the Sangkum effectively
functioned as the pro-Sihanouk party. Membership required complete loyalty to the
Cambodian throne and Sihanouks policies. Members of the movement could not belong to any
other political party but were eligible to stand as candidates for the Assembly. The abdication
of Suramarit and formation of a ruling political party gave Sihanouk the pillars for national
reorganization in the wake of the Colonial Era, and the rise of Cambodias golden age, often
referred to as Sihanouk Time, 1953-1970.44
Sihanouks emergence as a major actor on his countrys political stage, gave him
immense power and increasing international popularity. It has been suggested that the
prosperity and happiness of the Sangkum period may be exaggerated in popular memory in
42

Osborne, Phnom Penh, 123-124.
44
Osborne, Phnom Penh, 123.
43
24
light of what subsequently occurred.45 Sihanouk administered his country formally through a
cabinet that had the responsibility to an elected national assembly. The Sangkum were deeply
rooted in the principles of Buddhist socialism, and claimed to seek progressive goals and the
end of social injustice.
Buddha did not give up that fight during the period of his life
following his Illumination. He fought against dishonesty, theft, deceit, and
lies, as well as the privileges the Brahmin caste considered it right In
mans will to go beyond himself, in his personal search for truth, as well as
his sacrifices to help his fellow man, and in this form Buddhism is the finest
ideal which could inspire our socialism.
46
It was based solely around the conservative religious and social traditions of
Cambodia. Rather than doing away with private property, Buddhist socialism
encouraged the wealthy to give to the poor in order to gain merit.47
The aim, I said, was to give birth to a truly democratic, equalitarian,
and socialist Cambodia, to restore the past greatness of our motherland.
Many of my loyal supporters promptly forgot the words democratic,
equalitarian, and socialist and began to dream up ways to use the
Sangkum to further their own private ambitions.
48
On September 1955, the National Assembly elections took place. The campaign for this
election had been the most documented of Sihanouks campaign. The Sangkum Reastr Niyum
45
Joakim jendal and Mona Lilja, editors, Beyond Democracy in Cambodia: Political Reconstruction in a PostConflict Society (Copenhagen: NIAS Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Press, 2009), 26.
46
Sihanouk, War and Hope, xxi; from Philippe Peschez: Essai sur la dmocratie cambodienne.
47
David M. Ayres, Anatomy of a Crisis: Education, Development, and the State in Cambodia (Honolulu: University
of Hawaii Press, 2000), 34-35.
48
Sihanouk and Burchett, My War with the CIA, 161-162.
25
dominated Cambodian politics, rapidly marginalizing the Democrat Party and all other electoral
contenders, until Sihanouks overthrow in 1970.49
Sihanouks campaign was marked by widespread corruption and substantial violence.50
Terror was used as a weapon against candidates and their supporters by all sides, but most
particularly by those backing the Sangkum. The Sangkum intimidated their opponents by
disrupting rallies, assaulting vote canvassers, and ensuring that only Sangkum poster were left
untouched.51 There were numerous reports from nongovernment newspapers in the summer
of 1955, stating encounters of intimidation towards non-Sangkum candidates.52
The local Agence France-Presse correspondent reported that observers had some
reservations about certain aspects of the voting process: unusual deployment of police forces,
absence of opposition voting slips, and arrests of left-wing leaders.53 On one occasion,
Sihanouks security forces forced Cambodians to swear before groups of monks on the grounds
of Buddhist monasteries that they would vote for the Sangkum.54 David Chandler has now
published convincing new evidence that Sangkum candidates were, in fact, defeated in five
constituencies.
The caliber of many Sangkum candidates was low. In Battambang, past prime minister
Huy Kanthoul encountered a Sino-Khmer who could barely read a word of Cambodian, while
in Svay Rien, one Sangkum candidate was a nineteen-year-old popular singer who had
49
jendal and Lilja, Beyond Democracy in Cambodia, 34.

Osborne, Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness, 97-98.
51
52
Vickery, Looking Back at Cambodia, 98.
53
54
Chandler, The Tragedy of Cambodian History, 82.
50
26
somehow come to Sihanouks attention.55 Other recruits included former Renovation party
members who had been defeated in 1947 or 1951.
It is quite obvious that Sihanouk knew that his supporters had resorted to violence to
maintain him in power. Sihanouk desire to maintain control of the monarchy, influenced this.
He sanctioned that violence, since he could not conceive that his opponents could be other
than foolish, at best, or more likely motivated by evil intent towards him personally, at
worst.56 Finally, ballot boxes were tampered with after the vote, to eliminate candidates of
the left.57 It ensured that the Sangkum would have won a majority of the seats in the election.
Capitalizing on his newly discovered oratorical skills, Sihanouk made full use of the
freedom from kingly restraints to carry his arguments to the people.58 His message was
simple, where a vote for the Sangkum also meant a vote for his policies. The results: Sangkum
won all ninety-one seats. The Sangkum received 83 percent of the votes, the Democrats 13
percent, and the Pracheachon only three percent. The Liberals and four other small parties
received a total of less than one percent. The Sangkum was more like a political tool used to
exterminate the other parties, and further strengthen Sihanouks monarch.
I had never expected a victory of such embarrassing magnitude Six
months after I had abdicated, I found myself in the political forefront of the
country as Prime Minister for a political grouping which held all the seats
in the National Assembly!
59
55
Chandler, The Tragedy of Cambodian History, 82.

57
58
59
56
27
Two weeks after the elections, the first Sangkum National Congress was held. Some
historic measures were decided: the vote for women; the Khmer language as the only one to be
used in public institutions; mandates of deputies could be withdrawn if a majority of voters in
their electorate so desired.60 The legitimacy and possibly the presence of the commune chiefs,
commonly referred to as fatherly figures, seems to have been fairly high. However, they were
only moderately involved in promoting development, and the source of their relative legitimacy
was their identity as the local arm of the Sihanouk rather than their promotion of local
development.61 Instead, tax and data collection seemed to have been the primary local
development.
Sihanouk dominated political life for the next fifteen years by organizing and relying on
Cambodian youth. On September 5, 1957, the Junior Section of the Sangkum the Jeunesse
socialiste royale khmre (royal Khmer socialist youth, or JSRK) was created. Civil servants and
students comprised its membership, and it served only as a faade: there was no civic and even
less political training. Members were traditionally children of Sangkum members and those
who make a good showing in the secondary schools.
Once a year, we took a training course lasting three days to learn how
to march and salute. We were told to love the monarchy and the country
but were given no explanation For me, being in the JSRK meant having a
pretty uniform for parading around in front of the girls. In any case, it was
hard to refuse; almost all the young people were in it.
Former member of the JSRK
60

jendal and Lilja, Beyond Democracy in Cambodia, 113.
62
Martin, Cambodia: A Shattered Society, 64.
61
28
62
A crisis rose on April 3, 1960 when King Suramarit died at the age of 65. It was the
beginning of Sihanouks deterioration of power. Following his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk
won general election as head of state, but received the title of Prince rather than King. In 1963,
he made a change in the constitution that made him head of state for life.
By 1962, Sihanouks popularity had reached its max. Cambodia was at peace. Many
young members of the elite had just returned from studies abroad, and took up positions in the
government. Foreign aid came in sufficient quantities to offset annual budget deficits.
In the spring of 1965, Sihanouk made a pact with North Vietnam and the Peoples
Republic of China to allow the presence of permanent North Vietnamese bases in eastern
Cambodia and to allow military supplies from China to reach Vietnam by Cambodian ports. On
May 3 of the same year, Sihanouk announced that Cambodia would break off diplomatic
relations with the United States because of Cambodias alliance with China.
By 1967, a peasant uprising in Samlaut in the northwest Cambodia was brutally
suppressed by Sihanouks forces. Scholars believe that perhaps as many as ten thousand
people were massacred before order was restored. The Cambodian National Assembly, headed
by Prime Minister Lon Nol, voted to remove Sihanouk from his position as the Head of State of
the Kingdom of Cambodia effective March 18, 1970, and eventually Sihanouk was sent to exile
on March 22 of that same year. This was the end of Sihanouks golden years.
In the wake of Cambodias colonial era, Sihanouk emerged as a determined autocratic
ruler. He guided his countrys political stage, through immense power and increasing
international popularity, with assistance from his Sangkum supporters. In the subsequent
chapter, we will continue in greater detail, of Sihanouks efforts to transform Phnom Penh into
29
a spectacular capital that would symbolize the new path he sought to blaze in contemporary
Cambodian history. How did Sihanouk beautify a small country patch into one of the most
dazzling jewel in Southeast Asia?
30
Chapter Two
Rebuilding Phnom Penh as an Imperial
Capital
An old womans [her name, Penh] discovery of a Buddha image floating
miraculously downstream, was concocted after the city had come to life,
under a name suggestive of its location at the crossroad of two rivers, a
name that has survived into modern Khmer as Chaomuk, or four faces,
an interesting echo of the iconography of the Bayon.
David P. Chandler
63
Travel by road from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and the Angkor ruins did not become an
option until after the First World War.64 Founded in 1434, Phnom Penh is located on the banks
of the Tonl Sap, Mekong and Bassac rivers. Once known as the "Pearl of Asia", Phnom Penh
was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina.65 From the 1920s and over
the next four decades, the city and Cambodia continued to experience a tremendous growth
and prosperity until the civil wars that began in the 1970s.66
French Protectorate of Cambodia (1863-1953)

Urban planning in the late nineteenth century in Indochina had been concerned
principally with forcibly stamping a French presence on these newly conquered territories
(Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos). The French military believed that they had to establish an
63

65
Richard Heinzl, Cambodia Calling: A Memoir from the Frontlines of Humanitarian Aid (Wiley, John & Sons,
Incorporated, 2009), eBook.
66
Heinzl, Cambodia Calling.
64
31
authoritarian regime which would crush indigenous revolt.67 Military buildings were in the
initial urban plans, and the rebuilding was intended to assert a domineering and inviolable
image of the imperial nation.68 The buildings were formalist and grandiose: their
ornamentation made reference to classical and baroque monuments, and also represented a
visible expression of the universality of Western concepts of beauty and order.69
An example of a masterpiece of colonial design, the National Museum of Cambodia was
built over three years between 1917 and mid-1920s by George Groslier (1888-1945). Groslier
designed the museum with striking evocations of traditional Cambodian architecture, and was
its director until 1942.70 The museum was originally named Muse Albert Sarraut after the
then Governor-General of Indochina.71 In 1923, Ernest Hbrard (1875 1933) was appointed as
head of the Indochina Architecture and Town Planning Service. Hbrard spent much time
photographing and studying indigenous architecture, such as the Angkor Wat, Buddhist
pagodas, and simple rural dwellings.72 His principal aim was to find local antecedents for
official structures, and sought to strike a balance between tradition and modernism, industrial
growth and cultural respect.73 Instead, many of his buildings, such as, resembled a pastiche of
exotic superimposed upon a Beaux-Arts plan, rather than the more radical change in direction
which he advocated. Sitting on a wide, tree-lined avenue, the Raffles Hotel Le Royal,
67
Nicola Cooper, Urban Planning and Architecture in Colonial Indochina, vol. 31, no. 11 of French Cultural Studies
(2000): 76, assessed April 21, 2013, doi:10.1177/095715580001103105.
68
Cooper, Urban Planning, 76-77.
69
Cooper, Urban Planning, 77.
70
71
Information for Visitors, Streetscapes of Phnom Penh, A Leisurely Architectural Exploration, 2013, National
Museum of Cambodia, assessed on April 21, 2013,
http://cambodiamuseum.info/en_information_visitors/streetscapes.html.
72
Cooper, Urban Planning, 85-86.
73
Cooper, Urban Planning, 86.
32
established in 1929 and built by Hbrard, is distinguished by its blend of Khmer, Art Deco, and
French colonial architecture.74
By the 1920s the Angkor ruins were attracting visitors in increasing numbers, among
them William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). Maugham, a British playwright of French
descent, was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author
during the 1930s. During his 1922 visit, he wrote that the Phnom Penh was a hybrid town built
by the French and inhabited by the Chinese; it has broad streets with arcades in which are
Chinese shops, formal gardens and, facing the river a quay neatly planted with trees like the
quay in a French riverside town. Hotel accommodations during the 1920s were scarce in
Phnom Penh, and varied in quality. Maugham found his hotel large, dirty and pretentious,
while the Royal Palace afforded him the opportunity to amuse himself with sundry reflections
upon the trappings of royalty, the passing of empire, and the deplorable tastes in art of
crowned heads. While other visitors argued, that the hotels were comfortable but expensive.
In the 1920s, there was also an economic boom that affected most of Indochina. Rice
exports and rubber plantations in Cambodia produced revenue for French investors and
spawned the beginnings of a proletariat. Taxation was also extremely high in Cambodia.
Automobiles were the transport of choice for the colonizers. Eventually, the French did build a
railroad, known as the Trans-Indochina Line. Between 1928 and 1932, this 500-kilometer (300
mile) stretch of railroad was built between Phnom Penh and Battambang, and it was later
extended to the Thai border. Investments in public works reaped large profits for shareholders
74
City guide: Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Scotland on Sunday, February 28, 2012, Johnston Publishing Ltd, assessed
on April 21, 2013, http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/scotland/city-guide-phnom-penh-cambodia-12140373.
33
in France. In addition, these changes also meant that thousands of rural Cambodians were now
able to move rapidly around the country by bus, and visits to Phnom Penh became easier and
more frequent.75
In the late 19th century, Phnom Penh was partitioned into ethnic sectors or quartiers.
Hbrard and his colleague, Daniel Fabr worked from the late 19th to early 20th century to
construct the necessary administrative public and private buildings with Phnom Penh soon
dubbed the Paris of the East. During a brief stopover in 1936, Charlie Chaplin commented
with surprise when he discovered in Phnom Penh, ... certain reclaimed avenues (that had
recently been laid over former canals) as being little sisters to the grand Champs Elyses in
Paris.76
An area of gracious villas, their steep roofs and decorative ironwork suggest they had
been plucked in their entirety from provincial France. Throughout the entire period that
Cambodia was under French control, even in the years after the Second World War, Phnom
Penh remained an out-of-the-way location, scarcely known by comparison with two much
larger cities in Vietnam, Hanoi, and Saigon. It was more of a brief stopping place before
travelling on to the Angkor ruins.
Sihanouk Establishes a New Capital in the Wake of French

Colonialism
With independence successfully achieved, Phnom Penh was poised to experience the
most dramatic series of changes that had ever taken place in its existence as the countrys
75
76

Streetscapes of Phnom Penh.
34
modern capital. The day of independence, marked ninety years since France had established a
position in Cambodia, and eighty-seven years since Sihanouks great-grandfather had moved his
capital from Udong to Phnom Penh. The day Phnom Pen became capital, it a town of around
350,000 people. Why did he make this decision? The Royal Palaces location, as well as the
Princes birthplace could be the reasons for Sihanouks decision of reestablishing the imperial
capital in Phnom Penh. In his drive to rebuild Phnom Penh, Prince Sihanouk established an
architectural movement called the New Khmer Architecture. The movement was founded in
1953 with Cambodia's independence, and reached its climax during the 1960s. It came to an
end in 1970 with the overthrow of Sihanouk. The style blended elements of the Modern
Architecture, (clarity of simple forms and visual emphasis on horizontal, vertical lines, and
ornamented with lavish details such as swags, medallions, flowers, and shields), with two
distinctly Cambodian traditions: the vernacular tradition of the majority of Cambodians houses
during the time, and the grand tradition of the Ancient City of Angkor.
In this chapter, we will examine the influential role Sihanouk has had on architecture
and the public imagination of the imperial capital. Architecture is a manifestation and
testament to the social values of its time. This process of nation-building was instrumental in
the process of molding a national identity, whilst using the power of the state. Major
infrastructure developments within the capital were needed to ensure the social harmony and
economic growth of the nation as a whole. As the leader in the movement, Sihanouk aimed to
unify and build the capital into an internationally recognized, peaceful space.
35
The Reality Builder

Norodom Sihanouk demanded the highest standards of design,
functional buildings and public works. He was the ideal client, pushing his
architects to their limits and supporting creativity in all areas of society.
Client and architect are wedded in a relationship that requires mutual trust
and respect. The role of the public client is to support the architect by
finding the money and recognizing the quality of the design, striving for
something even more radical than the architect had dared. With a client
like Norodom Sihanouk, the architects had to be talented.
Helen Grant Ross and Darryl Leon Collins
77
With Sihanouk as their patron, influential architects to the New Khmer Architecture
were able to rebuild an unbeknownst town into a magnificent imperial capital in the heart of
Southeast Asia. Many of Sihanouks architects were talented, extremely passionate and
hardworking. In terms of quality and quantity, there was only one who was the most
prominentVan Molyvann (1926-present).
Coming from humble beginnings, Molyvann grew up in a traditional wooden house.
Later, as a young man, he was awarded a scholarship to study law, architecture and Khmer art
in France.78 Hence, he left Cambodia for the first time in 1946. The cole Nationale Suprieure
des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA) was a cultural shock and Molyvann had to repeat his first year.79
I was a Buddhist jumping into Western architecture Coming from
Cambodia and being forced to draw Corinthian, Doric and Ionic columns
was not easy but served me well in the end.
Vann Molyvann
77
Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 201.

Vann Molyvann, Modern Khmer Cities (Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Reyum Publishing, 2000), v.
79
80
78
36
80
While in Paris, Molyvann participated in conferences held by Le Corbusier (one of the

pioneers of Modern Architecture) and American architect Paul Rudolph (who used natural
concrete to build the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Molyvann also headed the Khmer
Association of Students at the Maison du Cambodge, and met and married his first wife, the
daughter of architect Henri Marchal. In his final year, Molyvann avoided the grand designs
favored by student of the Modern Movement, and instead chose to study the Brazilian
vernacular architecture, which would later inspire his military cap design for the One Hundred
Houses project in Phnom Penh.81
Returning to Cambodia from his studies in France in 1956, Molyvann became
Cambodias first modern architect. A year later, he was promptly appointed Head of Public
Works and State Architect by Sihanouk. Today, Molyvann is known as Cambodias first Royal
Architect.
When I came back in 1956, it was moving to rediscover all the Khmer
monuments that I looked at in a new way Our head of state personally
supports and encourages artistic accomplishment, in particular
architecture. Also the Sangkum allows architects a free hand in conducting
their research and their work.
Interview with Vann Molyvann, A IEcole des Matres Angkoriens, 1969.
82
Molyvann was the state architect of a Khmer autocratlike the architect of Napoleon III
or Hitlers architect Albert Speer. From 1957 to 1971, Molyvann was determined to incorporate
Cambodian tradition into his French architectural training of vernacular and monumental
81
82
Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 202-203.

37
architecture.83 The beginning of Molyvanns career was put to the test. The materials in
Cambodia were limited, and there were no civil engineers, surveyors or other professionals to
help at various stages from design to completion.84 There was a shortage of skilled personnel.
There were few building contractors, mostly French or Vietnamese, and it took time for
Cambodian construction companies to develop. Only two companies survived Comin Khmre
and Khaou Chuly.
Molyvann forged a style that was bold and innovative, and maintained a certain classical
balance that spoke across great cultural and temporal divides. One of his earlier commissions
was in 1957, in which Cambodia commemorated the 2,500th anniversary of Buddhas birth by
building open-air pavilions in the gardens in front of the railway station.85 Molyvann was an
extremely talented and hard worker, and with Sihanouk, designed the landmarks and
infrastructures of the newly independent nation: the Independence Monument, the first
Pediatric Hospital, Chaktomuk Conference Hall, the National Sports Complex, the National
Theater, the first higher education institution in Cambodia, the Teachers Training College, the
State Palace at Chamkar Mon, the Council of Ministers, the first airport in Siem Reap, the
laboratories of the first Pasteur Institute, a number of Khmer embassies abroad, etc.
The Visionary
Sihanouk used the power he gained from leadership of the Sangkum to pursue his vision
for his country. The Royal Khmer Socialist Youth (JSRK) also blossomed into an enormous
83

85
84
38
support group, and was present at almost every inauguration and staged rallies at the National
Sports Complex.
Members practice the principles proclaimed by the boy scout
movements and do at least one good deed every day. They are well
behaved, helpful to other people and modest in character Young
Cambodians were eager for a better share in the exciting possibilities of
the contemporary world. And they have that precious gift of optimism and
faith in the future without which a nations plans, however well laid, can
come to nought.
Norodom Sihanouk
86
Members from the JSRK benefited from an improved lifestyle, educational opportunities
and prospects for the future in an economy that seemed to grow stronger with every school,
university, factory, and development project inaugurated.87 There was a drift of young men to
the urban areas, particularly to the capital, which, in the twenty years after 1945, mushroomed
from a town of 50,000 to a city of approximately 500,000.88
Urban migration is in part a direct result of government activity in the
provinces: A taste of education beyond the facilities of the pagoda school
often leaves a young man discontented with the life of his parents.
Generous expenditure on education (20 percent of the annual budge),
particularly at the secondary level, has intensified the inclination of a good
number of Cambodias youthful generation to move out of agricultural
pursuits and to seek employment in occupations that carry greater status
and financial reward.
Michael Leifer
89
Molyvanns vision of development had always been closely associated with Sihanouks
post-Independence politics of neutrality to foster a balanced forward-looking evolution of
Khmer society.
86

88
Michael Leifer, The Search for Security, 6.
89
Leifer, The Search for Security, 6.
87
39
Sihanouk and I were colleagues. I had great respect for him. I can tell
you a story about the way that he gave orders, which was inspiring. One
day, in the 60s, he called me, a French-trained Khmer engineer, a
physician and a few others. We had a meeting at the Royal Palace, and he
said he had just come back from Indonesia He said: they have just built
independence but they have plenty of universities, why do we not? This is
the future! He said, you, Molyvann, you will create the Royal University of
Phnom Penh. And I received a small Italian car, and went on a hunt for
students and teachers, scholars, to create the council for the university.
Vann Molyvann, January 2013
90
Nationwide plans formulated in the early years of Sihanouks rule, which included
agriculture, culture, education, health, industry, tourism, urbanism, and infrastructure. Crop
diversification, the use of modern equipment expanded rising of livestock, the revival of rural
handicrafts and peasant groups associated with the Royal Office of Cooperation, set up in 1956.
Tourism prompted the development of hotels and motels, notably the Independent Hotel at
Sihanoukville, which opened in 1968.
Although Sihanouk was not a qualified architect, he did personally review all the major
public buildings that were being designed throughout the kingdom, and also contributed as a
designer in several cases.91 Sihanouk personally did the interior design work, chose the
furnishings, finishes, and color schemes for the Hotel Cambodiana in Phnom Penh, which was
designed by Lu Ban Hap. Lu Ban Hap (1931-present) studied with Molyvann in Paris, and in
Cambodia worked with Molyvann and two French architects to design the Phnom Penh sports
90
Claire Knox, Vann Molyvann: My Legacy Will Disappear, January 26, 2013, Projects Cambodia, Blogger,
http://projectscambodia.blogspot.com/2013/01/vann-molyvann-my-legacy-will-disappear.html.
91
40
Complex and the Chaktomuk Conference Hall.92 In the sixties, he was also commissioned to set
up the new Town Planning and Housing Department for the municipality of Phnom Penh.
For major public works, Sihanouk would summon his architects to present their designs
and then, he would review them thoroughly before giving consent. Claude Bach remembered
being called to Chamkar Mon to present his model of the Angkor Hotel.
When Norodom Sihanouk arrived, aides raised the model so that he
could look at it easily. The head of Air France, the project developer, told
Bach to design. I began by saying that I collected butterflies and planned
to put butterflies in all the bedrooms, he recalled. The airline executive
looked as though as he was going to die but Norodom Sihanouk thought it
was a n excellent idea. We have so many beautiful butterflies here in
Cambodia, he was quoted as saying. I have fun catching them myself.
Bach said Norodom Sihanouk like the design very much.
Interview with Lu Ban Hap, from Helen Grant Ross and Darryl Leon Collins
93
Cambodia showcased the capital to the rest of the world by hosting exhibitions, festivals,
and other events. In addition, Phnom Penh hosted the International Exhibition 1955 at a site
next to Wat Phnom. While tourism had largely been a French colonial activity shared with the
Cambodian royal family, independence brought mass tourism to the country. In a further sign
of its break with the colonial past, Cambodia hosted an American Festival along the avenues
leading to Wat Phnom between late 1956 and early 1957.94 Internationalism characterized the
first 17 years after independence.
Independence threw open a door that had been locked for a lifetime.
Once opened, it revealed an exciting new world of new vistas and
seemingly unlimited opportunities that had largely bypassed the country
during the colonial era.
92

94
93
41
95
Sihanouks vision was of a modern Cambodia, proudly making its mark in the world. He
focused almost entirely in Phnom Penh, and wanted to create a capital he could proudly display
to international delegations and visiting heads of state.96 Traditional Khmer architecture
requires the close collaboration of the architect, engineer, sculptor, and builder. On March
1957, Molyvann was commissioned and responsible for completing maybe the most significant
symbol of the young Cambodian nation Independence Monument. It was completed
sometime before 1962. Although the inspiration of the monument comes from Banteay Srei as
Sihanouk requested, it was built with modern techniques, and integrated the complex
proportions and decorative elements which are inherent to the Khmer tradition into a
completely new creation. This monument made Molyvann famous and influenced the design of
many other monuments that dispersed throughout the nation.
The Preservationist
Like most great architecture throughout the world, the temples of
Angkor arose from the belief that humanity could attain a higher level of
spiritual accomplishment by constructing temples to celebrate the divine.
97
Sihanouk followed in the footsteps of Angkorean kings, particularly his favorite role
model Jayavarman VII, who built the last great city of Angkor Thom.98. Elements of vernacular
tradition can be seen in the adaptations to the local tropical climate. Traditional Cambodian
95

Martin Stuart-Fox, Sihanouks Legacy, February 26, 2013, New Mandala, assessed April 21, 2013,
http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2013/02/26/sihanouks-legacy/.
97
98
Ian Harris, editor, Buddhism, Power and Political Order (Taylor & Francis, Inc., 2007), 115-117, eBook.
96
42
houses were usually raised on columns due to regular flooding in the rainy season. The
columns also allowed for open, shaded space for social activities, and created a natural cooling
effect. Wall panels, double walls, roofs, and loggias were installed to prevent direct harsh
sunlight. In New Khmer Architecture, the emphasis was on blending Angkor (Ancient
Cambodian style) with the traditional Cambodian house style. Hence, the VVV- shaped roofs
that can be found in many of the buildings built during this time emphasized the grand likeness
to the Angkor Temples.
The extensive number of films produced by Sihanouk often featured New Khmer
Architecture as well as the more familiar Angkorian settings, as seen in his film Shadow of
Angkor (Numerology is also incorporated into the architectural design, not as some recipe for
aesthetic beauty but as a way of communicating with a higher level of thinking.
Like Sihanouk, Molyvann felt he had to integrate Cambodian traditions into his work
rather than simply follow the lessons of his French masters.
Everybody was aware that it was necessary to rediscover our origins,
the motivation behind our countrys existence and that like any country
with an ancient tradition, it should reassert its own personality.
Vann Molyvann, La Dpche du Cambodge, 1964
99
Molyvanns designs became more and more assertive as the years passed since his first
arrival back to Cambodia from France. He liberated himself from his French training and the
Italian Renaissance, and instead more and more of his work drew inspiration from elements of
ancient Khmer and vernacular architecture as well as Japanese traditions and everyday
99
43
Cambodians objects such as carrying sticks and straw hats.100 Molyvanns best friend, Grald
Hanning also believed that the traditional Cambodian house of wood and thatched roof was
perfectly adapted to modern needs, especially in a tropical climate, and the challenge was how
to integrate it into a densely populated modern city.101
The Environmentalist
Before the French colonization, the Khmer tradition was built around the law that
people were only allowed to build on water but nowhere on land without the permission of the
king.102 After the establishment of the French colony, the rules were reversed, and instead
brought the idea that the best way to build is by filling in wetlands, waterways, lakes, and
constructing dykes for earth-bound vehicles and heavy building buildings.103 When Sihanouk
ruled, in a tropical climate with temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius, the best way to protect the
body from excess heat, shade and ventilation are all that is necessary.
Also we have to take into account the construction and special
tradition of the Khmer wooden house, functional in the way its space is
organized, with room under the platform of the house built on stilts for
work and play to take place in the shade, verandas protected from the rain
and oriented to benefit from the dominant wind, elegant roofs in which the
loft acts an effective insulation of ventilated air.
Vann Molyvann
104
The vernacular style of building light-weight structures in Cambodia used materials that
were readily available such as bamboo, rushes, rattan, wood, tiles and bricks. Characteristics of
100

102
103
104
101
44
Molyvanns works include, Angkor-inspired plans with moats and buildings aligned along an
east-west axis with local materials like brick stone.105 Another detail that was also very
important in building the new infrastructures was the creation of natural ventilation to cool the
building.
Water and are air are in abundance, and instead of fighting against
the elements there is a mentality of embracing the climate and making use
of the elements.
106
Although Sihanouk adapted the building constructions to match the environment, there
were also three major structural constraints to the development of a Greater Phnom Penh:
flooding, water drainage, and geological movement. The city expanded by the construction of
dikes which extended away from the colonial center of the city on the banks of Tonle Sap River,
and this process of building dikes and the refilling several times would then creat a series of
concentric arcs on which the major boulevards of the city today run (Preah Sihanouk Boulevard,
Monivong Boulevard, Mao Tse Tung Boulevard).107 During the rainy season, water accumulated
along the dikes must be pumped out and discharged into a network of beng (ponds) and
prek (canals) outside the city.108
There was a stress on the botanical surroundings, a legacy of French colonial
streetscapes, which extended to incorporating suitable plantings into new urban developments.
The importance placed on horticulture probably reflected the influence of Madame Dy Phon
105

107
Molyvann, Modern Khmer Cities, 112-115.
108
Molyvann, Modern Khmer Cities, 115.
106
45
Pauline, a doctor of biology who had a profound effect on the study and research of botanical
species during Sihanouks rule.
In a botanical guide to Phnom Penh published many years later, she
[Madame Dy Phon Pauline] and Marie-Alexandrien Martin highlighted the
harmonious placing of plants and vibrant colors that travelers could
admire from the shade of the foliage. This vegetation that suits the city
well certainly contributes to the idea that Phnom Penh is the most
beautiful city of Southeast Asia.
109
Madame Paulines studies assisted Sihanouk in incorporating environmental designs in

the beautification and modernization of Phnom Penh. The city became better known as the
Paris of the East.
The Paris of the East

With its tree-lined streets, flower-bedecked boulevards and shady riverside parks,
Phnom Penh was the most beautiful city of Southeast Asia. In June 1961, Sihanouk met with
Phnom Penh Governor Tep Phan, and pushed for development at the Bassac River Front in
Phnom Penh, which included plans to develop 24 hectares of reclaimed land with low-cost
housing and public buildings that completed the perspective up to the Independence
Monument.110
Our capital must deal with the problem of the urban population. I do
not think it necessary to remind you of the social and hygiene problems,
the fire risk and the infrastructure and transport problems associated with
unplanned development on the periphery of the town. We must begin the
construction of low-cost apartment buildings that can be rented or sold to
109
110

46
average and small-income families. This will no doubt take some time and
requires progressive planning and investment.
Norodom Sihanouk, June 1961
111
Under the care of Vladimir Bodiansky, an international team of town planners were led
by Grald Hanning, Lu Ban Hap, and Molyvann to work on the projects by the Bassac River
Front. The Sangkum Reastr Niyum Exhibition Hall was build first and inaugurated towards the
end of 1961. By 1963, the municipality had built 468 apartments which were included the
separate apartments for staff of the National Bank of Cambodia.112 More apartments were
built for the Southeast Games in 1964, which never took place. The river front development
also continued with the Preah Suramarit National Theater, which was inaugurated in 1968.113
Molyvanns design for the National Theater was based on a triangular module inspired by Frank
Lloyd Wright, with an organic design that explodes in the pyramid form of the roof, and this
well-ventilated space allowed for seating arrangements for 1,200 people.114 The theater is
reminiscent of a ship steaming down the river.115
Cambodia was scheduled to hold the Southeast Asian Games in 1963, and in 1962
construction for the National Sports Complex started. The regional event was cancelled and
never took place. The 40-hectare site chosen for the sports complex required major
earthworks. As the Prompi Makara district was a wetland area, oxcarts were used in the initial
phase. Only after the 1st platform of Earth had been created could mechanical diggers and
111

113
114
115
112
47
bulldozers move in.116 Molyvann recalled how the first bulldozer gradually sank into the ground
without the driver realizing what was happening. Somebody shouted for him to jump out
which he did like a frog just in time to see his machine disappear into the mud, left for some
archaeologist to discover in the future.117 The National Sports Complex had three main
functions indoor and outdoor sports facilities, water sports facilities and housing of
athletes.118 On November 12, 1964, Sihanouk inaugurated the new facilities as the Phnom
Penh National Sports Complex. An estimation of up to 100,000 people attended the
inauguration ceremony, complete with fireworks and other displays.119
Sihanouk also inaugurated other facilities donated by foreign governments. Between
1965 and 1968, these included a Chinese cotton mill, a Japanese agriculture center, a Chinese
textile factory and a French jute mill.120 In June, 1956, the Chinese Peoples Republic granted
Cambodia equipment, construction material, and merchandise allegedly valued at $22.4
million.121 Besides the Chinese textile factory, this assistance also was used to build a plywood
factory, a cement factory, and a paper mill. Economic assistance from Czechslovakia included a
tractor and automobile plant, and soon afterwards, there were an increasing number of
vehicles on the streets.122 There was a better performance for a sugar refinery, also sponsored
by Czechoslovakia, which used locally produced palm sugar. Additionally, a highway linking the
116

118
Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 213
119
120
121
122
117
48
Sihanoukville port with the capital was an American benefaction, and dams for hydroelectric
power had been financed by the Soviet Union, France, and Yugolsavia.123
Most of Cambodias development was financed by the national budge overseen by
Finance Minister Son Sann, also known as the austere financier who formulated economic
programs under Sihanouk for almost two decades.124 The National Bank of Cambodia,
established in 1954 also played a role in financing Sihanouks projects. In 1955, there was the
launch of a new currency known as the riel to replace the piaster, the Old French colonial
currency.125 Cambodias economy was predominantly precapitalist, and the agricultural sector
consisted mainly of peasant family production in rice paddy and on cahmcar.126
In their rural environment, the Khmers were conservative villagers who live mainly in
simple thatched houses raised on wooden piles. Although limited gut rapidly growing urban
centers demonstrate the influence of the modern world, the vast majority of the population
during this time period (1955-1970) had not yet been deeply affected by the process of
modernization. The transistorized radio and the bicycle were perhaps the most common signs
of the changing rural modes.127 The rhythm of life was still governed by the cultivation of rice,
which was accomplished chiefly by traditional methods and accompanied by appropriate
religious ritual.128
123

125
126
Kevin McIntyre, Geography as Destiny: Cities, Villages and Khmer Rouge Orientalism, vol. 38, no.4 of
Comparative Studies in Society and History, (Cambridge University Press, October 1996): 742, assessed March 24,
2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/179197.
127
128
124
49
Just like the legacy he left for future generations of Cambodians, he also imprinted the
frameworks of a developing imperial capital. Phnom Penh became the principal city of the
country with the greatest population and the strongest urban economy. The attraction of
Phnom Penh to foreigners came partially from the chaos nearby. Development took place in a
complex political and military context which prevailed during the period, and Sihanouk
implicated in every dimension and was without a doubt, its major force. Following Sihanouks
principle of neutrality and the build of a beautiful renewed city, Phnom Penh became not only a
stopping point, but a peaceful place of rest, away from the turmoil of the Vietnam War. CNN
reporters, TIME magazine journalists, generals, as well as U.S. President John F. Kennedy all
came to visit Phnom Penh often.
It rose out of the ashes of French Indochina and began straight after
independence. It is the result of the collective efforts of the Cambodian
people themselves to build a new nation under the guidance of an
exceptionally inspired and energetic leader.
129
Sihanouk promoted a high standard of architecture which also sparked a movement

throughout the rest of Southeast Asia. During several visits to Cambodia in the 1960s, first
Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew was impressed by the new architecture of Phnom
Penh and expressed the desire for Singapore to be developed along similar lines.130 In a letter
to Sihanouk in 1967, Australian Prime Minister Harold Hold said he was deeply impressed by
the architecture, the charm and grace of Phnom Penh and by the ancient grandeur of Angkor
during his visit. I was also most interested in your vigorous progamme for economic
129
130

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, xxiv.
50
development, with the imaginative and progressive port and town development for
Sihanoukville. It was heartening also to observe the contentment and prosperity of the
Cambodian people. Cambodia charmed the World.
By our achievements and progress in all fields and by the dynamics of
national unity, we have certainly shown to the world that we are not a
bastard nation deprived of intelligence, courage and energy as the
enemies of our country and people have often pretended. Despite the
criticism and slander of some of our neighbors and their imperialist
masters, we have proved our capacity to transform our ancient kingdom
into a modern nation.
Norodom Sihanouk, November 12, 1964
131
The boulevards, monuments, government buildings, universities, theatres and sports

stadium that he built remain impressive architectural achievements for which Sihanouk will
long be remembered for. In the subsequent chapter, we will study how Sihanouk found both
personal and national satisfaction in adopting neutrality as a framework for his foreign policy.
What was the reason behind his motivation for maintaining neutrality and undertaking building
projects? Was it truly for the benefit of the nation or was it mainly due to his desire to control
Cambodia?
131
51
Chapter Three
The Search for a 'Neutral' Path
Our neutrality is not a doctrine. It is a realism, it is an attitude
dictated by facts and situation.
Prince Norodom Sihanouk, May 1959
132
In early 1953, Sihanouk left Cambodia for what is commonly known as his Royal
Crusade for Independence. Sihanouk toured the Western capitals Paris, New York, and
Montreal in pursuance to impress upon them the urgency of independence for his country. 133
Sihanouk rejected violence, of external constraints. Aware of, almost to the point of obsession,
Sihanouk was troubled with the Khmer peoples numerical inferiority (six million inhabitants,
400,000 Vietnamese and 350,000 Chinese, compared to the fifty million inhabitants in Vietnam),
so he deliberately turned his back on centuries of violence and bloody confrontations.134 On
April 26 July 20, 1954, the Geneva Conference, produced a set of documents, known as the
Geneva Accords which established the separation of Vietnam into two zones: a northern zone
to be governed by the Viet Minh, and a southern zone to be governed by the State of Vietnam,
then headed by former emperor Bo i. Three separate ceasefire accords, ending hostilities in
Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, were also signed at the conference.
Throughout the 1960s, politics in Southeast Asia became increasingly complicated and
violent. A low-level revolt in South Vietnam erupted into the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong
expanded the war into the eastern regions of Cambodia.135 Between growing domestic
132
The Statement of Norodom Sihanouk to Le Monde on May 19, 1959 quoted in Cambodia News (Royal Embassy
of Cambodia, New Delhi) July 6, 1959, 6.
133
Reddi, A Study of Cambodia's Neutralism, 197.
134
Sihanouk, War and Hope, xxii; see also Sihanouk, Cambodia Neutral: The Dictate of Necessity, 582.
135
J. D. Coleman, Incursion, (New York: St. Martins Press, 1991) 2.
52
pressures and the international pressures of the Vietnam War, Sihanouk was set up in an
increasingly difficult position.
Squeezed in between two medium-sized nations of the Western bloc and only thinly
screened by Laos from the scrutiny of two countries of the Eastern bloc, North Viet Nam and
the vast Peoples Republic of China, Cambodia had to find the best path for his people. What
choice have we but try to maintain an equal balance between the blocs? stated Sihanouk in
the Foreign Affairs journal, July 1958. 136 Any pressure from one bloc would be offset by the
other resulting in stability of the monarchy as a means of preserving the countrys peace and
freedom, and in maintaining a perfect equilibrium. The monarchy and neutralism were
interlinked.137 Sihanouk also emphasized that neutrality had been imposed on to the country
by necessity. Neutrality was also spawned from Cambodias difficulties during the turmoil of
Vietnam War, and the way in which it was trying to overcome them.138
My country, as my destiny, is seventeen centuries old. It has never
met such a tragedy as it is facing at present. Perhaps it is going to
disappear from the map of the world. I have only one chance of saving it.
Prince Norodom Sihanouk, July 1958
139
Since Cambodia achieved independence, Sihanouks neutral policy had always been
suited to the national needs. There was reluctance by the Western powers to consult with
Sihanouk on decisions affecting Cambodia in a setting of Cold War tensions within Asia.
Sihanouks embrace of a neutral foreign policy is noted in the context of the Bandung
Conference in Indonesia. It is possible that at this time in the early 1950s, Sihanouk and his
136
Sihanouk, Cambodia Neutral: The Dictate of Necessity, 583.

138
Cambodia Neutral: The Dictate of Necessity, 582-583.
139
137
53
advisors saw that a foreign policy of neutrality was the least likely to meet with the resistance
of those whose cooperation was sought.
A neutral policy would not only facilitate unification of diverse parties but
would also deprive those who chose to remain in opposition of an
important political issue. A policy of alignment, adopted so soon after the
struggle for Independence, would almost certainly have placed in the
hands of the adversaries a lethal propaganda weapon.
140
Held in April 1824 of 1955, the Bandung Conference was first large-scale Summit
Conference of Asian and African Peoples. The conference awakened the rest of the world to
the newly emerged independent countries. The main objective was to find common ground for
cooperation among countries with different ideologies, and this was the need of the then
international system of states.141 It signaled the final collapse of colonialism and the
emergence of an international force capable of challenging the dominant role of the Western
powers in the arena of international politics. China played an important role in the conference
and strengthened its relations with other Asian nations. On the other hand, neutrality was not
acceptable to the United States (US). In the spirit of the Bandung Conference, Sihanouk
expressed neutrality in the Cold War while trying to maintain a political balance between a
right-wing military and a growing Communist movement, the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI)
and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
In our foreign relations we have favored neutrality, which in the
United States is all too often confused with neutralism, although it is
fundamentally different. We are neutral in the same way Switzerland and
Sweden are neutralnot neutralist like Egypt or Indonesia. Let anyone
140
Roger M. Smith, Cambodias Foreign Policy (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1965), 75-76.
Wiswa Warnapala, Badung Conference of 1955 and the resurgence of Asia and Africa, Daily News Online, Lake
House, last modified 2003, assessed on February 12, 2013, http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/04/21/fea01.htm.
141
54
examine our votes in the United Nations; they are not often aligned with
those of the bloc of neutralist nations.
Prince Norodom Sihanouk, July 1958
142
The US involvement in Vietnam began as advisory support for the French. The French
attempted to reassert colonial control over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. In late 1955, there
was pressure from the US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen Dulles,
head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to place Cambodia under the protection of the
South-East Asia Treaty Organization, but Sihanouk refused.143 If accepted, this arrangement
would go against Cambodias pledge of neutrality. John Foster Dulles insisted that neutralism
was dangerous and immoral.144 US Ambassador and experienced CIA agent, Robert
McClintock harped on the same stale themes as had the brothers Dulles:
The Chinese intended to gobble us up The US Congress would
withhold economic aid from countries steering a neutral course No
nation could conceivably remain neutral in the struggle against world
communism Not to be with the US in this crusade was to be against her
Cambodia cannot be a Switzerland in Asia. You cannot be neutral. You
have to choose between the free world and the communist camp.
Robert McClintock, 1958
145
In March 1956, Sihanouk resigned as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and justified
his action at a press conference held at Kampot on the southern coast. During this time, the US
was continuing their military intrusions into Cambodia and there were also open threats of
defensive manners by South Vietnam and Thailand, with scarcely veiled support from the
US.146
142
Sihanouk, Cambodia Neutral: The Dictate of Necessity, 583.

Sihanouk, My War with the CIA, 75.
144
145
146
143
55
I realized that my resignation will be considered a moral victory by

the Americans, and I hope they will now be satisfied. They, who have so
often promised to defend the liberties of small countries, have just shown
their real face in Cambodia. It is not edifying. Let our compatriots rest
assured of one thing, however: we will not permit anyone to trample on
our neutrality or on our sovereignty. We will not retreat a single step. We
have victoriously rebuffed threats of this sort before we shall do so again.
147
Acutely conscious of Cambodias small size and lack of material power, the prince found
both personal and national satisfaction in adopting neutrality as a framework for his foreign
policy, seeing it as an act of defiance.148 Declaring Cambodias neutrality in the face of
American pressure gave him a measure of satisfaction that went beyond the policy implications
of his stance. Not only was the policy right, in his eyes, but the fact that it offended America
added spice to the experience of adopting it. To tweak the giants nose and then enjoy the
spectacle of his having to contain his anger was exhilarating.149
As the American war against Vietnam intensified, so too did the pressure on Sihanouk to
choose sides. In a delicate and complex balancing act, Sihanouk and the Cambodian
government allowed Vietnamese troops to use part of its territory for the Ho Chi Minh Trail,
which fed troops and supplies into South Vietnam. South Vietnamese security forces
repeatedly violated the Cambodian border while pursuing the Viet-Cong, and these intrusions
frequently had tragic consequences for Cambodias civilian population.150
I have also been criticized for opening Kampucheas doors to the
Vietnamese during the 1960s, even to the most dangerous Yuons,
meaning the Vietminh or North Vietnamese Communists Doing
147

149
150
148
56
everything possible to help a neighbor threatened by imperialism was a

duty the kingdom of Cambodia could not shrink.
151
In 1956, Cambodias Fourth National Congress approved a formal and permanent

Neutrality Act. Hou Youn, of the Committee in Defense of Neutrality, stated that if we are
sincere in our neutrality, other powers should respect this. But if the US does not, and stops its
aid, we have powerful friends to whom we can turn for help.152 It was unanimously decreed
that the National Assembly draft a law153 which includes the following points:
1. Cambodia is a neutral country.
2. Cambodia abstains from military or ideological alliance with other countries.
3. Cambodia will not commit aggression against other countries, but in case she is
the victim of aggression, she reserves the right:
Firstly, to take up arms in self-defiance.
Secondly, to appeal to the United Nations for help.
Thirdly, to appeal for aid to a friendly power capable of crushing the aggressor.
This act was later incorporated into Cambodias constitution. Sihanouk believed that
the neutrality Act will form a cornerstone of our foreign policy after victory.154 In 1958, the
army numbered only 25,000 men. The army was of vital importance to the security of the
country. The US removed a heavy burden on the national budget by undertaking to meet the
cost of maintaining and equipping the Cambodian army, as well as assisting the country in the
151
Sihanouk, War and Hope, 58.

153
Sihanouk, My War with the CIA, 89-90.
154
152
57
development of irrigation and education through the United States Operation Mission. 155 China
aided in the build of four factories; the French helped Cambodia to increase national
production through the development of irrigation and agriculture co-operation, and the USSR
built a 500-bed hospital.156 Cambodias desire to reconstruct its economy with the help of
economic and other aid from both the Cold War blocs safeguarded the nations freedom
against external pressure. It was estimated that about 90 percent of the planned expenditure
was met by foreign aid.157
The Bandung Conference in 1955 paved the way for the Non-Aligned movement (NAM)
and the first Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade
in 1961. NAM wanted to be neutral between the Western and Eastern blocs in the cold war.
As for such socialist countries as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam,
the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam or the Democratic Peoples
Republic of Korea, we support them politically and diplomatically without
reservation. But we cannot support certain among them in their efforts to
neocolonialise Cambodia and turn it into a satellite by using Khmer Reds as
their Trojan horse.
Prince Norodom Sihanouk, September 1967.
158
The principal reasons for Sihanouks rejection in 1963 of US aid were due to the
humiliating conditions incompatible with Cambodias independence and non-alignment which
went with this Aid. For example, when the National Defense lacked the fighter-planes and
other modern weapons Cambodia would not have had the right to receive them from the
155

Reddi, A Study of Cambodia's Neutralism, 201-202.
157
Economics Developments in Cambodia, Far Eastern Economic Review (April 3, 1958), 430-431.
158
Norodom Sihanouk, Statements by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, 1965-1973, pamphlet, 1.
156
58
Soviet Union or the Peoples Republic of China.159 According to Sihanouk, The US Economic Aid
was designed so as to thrust the economy irreversibly into the system called liberal which, as
one can still see in Thailand or in South Vietnam, accentuates social injustice and in no way
corresponds to the necessities of an underdeveloped country.160 The US Economic Aid refused
to aid the Khmer State to create State-controlled industries and sought only to develop a
market for imported consumer goods which suited only the privileged classes in Cambodian
society. There was also evidence of the military and economic aid corrupting the heads of the
Army and Civil Administration to a fantastic degree.
The Army has never forgiven me for refusing to encourage US imports
and has rushed to profit from them in 1970 to the extent of a catastrophic
war and unspeakable sufferings on the part of the people. Finally, this
rejection in 1963 came about as a result of a series of plots hatched by
certain not-so-quiet Americans against my parents and myself aimed at
suppressing or overthrowing us and as a result of a series of murderous
and bloody incursions by American, Saigonese and so-called Free-Khmers
armed forces directed against neutral Cambodia.
Prince Norodom Sihanouk, February 1971
161
On November 19, 1963, Sihanouk appeared before a hastily convened national congress
of the Sangkum to explain his economic decisions and the rejection of the US aid. He also used
to opportunity to bring before the crowd two Khmer Serei rebels, representatives of the
dissidents linked to his old enemy Song Ngoc Thanh, and displayed them in cages. 162 One rebel
confessed and admitted that Thanh was supported by the US, and was immediately released,
while the other remained mute. That other rebel was cowered before the abuse of the crowd,
159
Norodom Sihanouk, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia speaks: January-February 1971, exclusive
Interviews from the New Zealand Monthly Review (February 1971), The Great Speckled Bird (U.S.A, January 1971),
and The Indian Express, (January 28-29, 1971), pamphlet, 1-2.
160
Sihanouk, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia speaks, 2.
161
Sihanouk, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia speaks, 2.
162
59
and condemned shortly after. In early 1964, his execution was captured on film at Sihanouks
order and shown in cinemas throughout Cambodia.163
I planned to end once and for all the monopoly of US influence in our
country. I would turn to the socialist world for help. The Third point in
Cambodias relations with the outside world. Washington would have to
eat the bitter fruits of trying to push a small country too brutally in a
direction which it did not want to take. What could have been a proWestern neutrality would be a purer form of neutrality as between East
and West.
164
Cambodias neutrality was intended to provide for its country security in the Cold War
by permitting it to seek an appropriate counter to an external threat. The respect for monarchy,
which was embedded in the national consciousness, was interlinked with Sihanouks search for
a neutral path. Sihanouks decision to make neutrality as a law stands as a difference amongst
other nations that practiced neutralism as well. While Cambodia would not enter into any
military and political alliance with any power, Sihanouk reserved the right to appeal to the
United Nations and to some friendly power in case of aggression on Cambodias territory.165
Sihanouks style of diplomacy reflected his personal as well as national ambition. He envisaged
neutrality as a policy that would permit flexible response to any dramatic change in
circumstances.166
Like a tightrope artist, who must constantly balance himself upon a
swaying rope, so did and does Sihanouk wakes up each day to adjust to
changing situation.
163

165
166
164
60
Bernard Krisher
167
167
Norodom Sihanouk and Bernard Krisher, Sihanouk Reminisces: World Leaders I have Known, edited by Harrald
Ricci, (Bangkok: Duang Kamol, 1990), 26.
61
Conclusion
Sihanouk was a great leader who was fueled by his desire to lift Cambodia up to stand
on its own two feet. He gave a sense of hope to Cambodians, as well as modernized a small
nation. Sihanouks commitment to remaining neutral and the Cambodians immense loyalty to
the Father-Prince, allowed Cambodia to build so quickly in a short amount of time, and gained
much attention and popularity from the rest of the world.
During French Colonial rule, the French government mistakenly believed that Sihanouk
would be compliant. Many Cambodians did not know much about him, before he first elevated
power in 1941. Hardly any would have predicted that one day he would be seen as the
countrys dominant political figure. Attaining the throne was a surprise for Sihanouk, says his
nephew, Prince Sisowath Thomico, who was close to Sihanouk for much of his life.
He always wanted to be a literature professor. He wanted to teach
French, Latin, Greek because he loved those topics. Hes been thrown in
the political arena by the French, and he couldnt do anything else except
assume his responsibilities as the king of Cambodia. But he never wanted
to become king.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, January 2013
168
In the space of eight years from 1953 to 1963, Cambodia had moved forward from an
absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament, and on to an
original form of guided democracy via the National Congress of Sangkum. The role of the
monarch had been reduced at my initiative to a symbolic one, stated Sihanouk.169 Hence,
168
Robert Carmichael, Cambodia Prepares for Former King's Cremation, Voice of America, January 31, 2013,
assessed February 15, 2013, http://www.voanews.com/content/cambodia-prepares-for-cremation-of-former-kingsihanouk/1594332.html.
169
Sihanouk, My War with the CIA, 164-165.
62
the power of decision was in the hands of the Prime Minister and his cabinet, reinforced by the
direct participation of the people. The system worked smoothly for the next few years, before
the topple of Sihanouks monarchy in 1970. His frequent public appearances, Sihanouk seemed
to relish working alongside rural villagers on various public works projects, and was able to
form a close bond between himself as a person and the country he ruled.170
He was an insomniac who could call meetings at three o'clock in the
morning. He had tremendous energy, but the problem was that his energy
just led him eventually to exhaustion. Exhaustion with the problems of
Cambodia, and straightforward physical exhaustion.
Milton Osborne, February 2013
171
The days leading to his cremation, Prince Thomico said he was so impressed by the
effort the government had made:
It never happened before. It did not happen for King Norodom, for
King Sisowath, for King Monivong or even for King Suramarit, who was the
father for King Sihanouk. It did not happen. We did not have that huge
crowd and that huge organization.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, January 2013
172
Today, as investment continues to flood into Phnom Penh, swathes of colonial buildings
and the work of Molyvann and the New Khmer ensemble have been ripped down, communes
evicted from their lands and soaring skyscrapers built in their place.
I feel extremely sad Its a systeme totalitaire! There is no hope left
for my buildings. I believe most of them will go. I cannot elaborate any
more: I am sick of it. What will it do?
Vann Vann Molyvann, January 2013
170
173
AFP, Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia's mercurial ex-king.

Agence France-Presse (AFP), Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia's mercurial ex-king. GlobalPost, February 4, 2013,
assessed February 21, 2013, http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130204/norodom-sihanoukcambodias-mercurial-ex-king.
172
Carmichael, Cambodia Prepares for Former King's Cremation.
171
63
Phnom Penh must become the central motor for the emerging non agriculture economy.
Molyvann believes that there are a number of measures that must be taken to facilitate the
growth of industry and commerce, to eliminate existing constraints, and to gradually assure
that dysfunctional urban economies cease to compromise the growth rate of the economy.174
At the same time, the economy of secondary cities has to be stimulated in order for these cities
to be able to play a greater role in their respective regions.175
Sihanouk has fought for his people and had had strong good intentions. It was through
his desires to control the monarchy, his pride for his country, and his love of his people that
stimulated such an immense growth in Cambodia internally and externally. He gave the young
people hope and pride in their country. With the push and pull of powers during the Vietnam
War period, Sihanouk guided Cambodia in maintaining a neutral path, and did his best to
protect Cambodians. He kept on fighting for the future of Cambodia.
It is very important for me to stay in my country, in the house of my
history. [The late King Father] Sihanouk and I are the same here weve
both come back for the finale, to be cremated.
Vann Molyvann, January 2013
173
Knox, Vann Molyvann: My Legacy Will Disappear.

175
176
Knox, Vann Molyvann: My Legacy Will Disappear.
174
64
176
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Trinity College

Trinity College Digital Repository

Prince Sihanouk: The Model of Absolute

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses

Prince Norodom Sihanouk

The Model of Absolute

Prince Sihanouk: The Model of Absolute

Advised by Michael Lestz

A Thesis Submitted to the International Studies Program

Sihanouk before independence (1941-1953)

Osborne, Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness, 53.

Osborne, Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness, 33.

Sihanouk as a Beneficiary and also an Actor in End of

On November 9, 1953 Cambodia gained its independence from France. Sihanouk

Sihanouk as a Unifying Figure in the Fifties (1953-1960)

Chandler, A History of Cambodia, 277.

Neutralism in the 1960s

Prince Sihanouks Emergence as an Autocrat following

led by Prince Norodom Norindeth (1906-1975?), tended to be more conservative, less

Michael Vickery, Looking Back at Cambodia Westerly, 4 (1976): 16.

The palace is stuffed full of a hierarchy of court mandarins and

Sihanouk and Burchett, My War with the CIA, 162.

jendal and Lilja, Beyond Democracy in Cambodia, 34.

Prince Norodom Sihanouk

Chandler, The Tragedy of Cambodian History, 82.

Sihanouk and Burchett, My War with the CIA, 164.

French Protectorate of Cambodia (1863-1953)

Chandler, A History of Cambodia, 94.

Sihanouk Establishes a New Capital in the Wake of French

Chandler, A History of Cambodia, 195.

The Reality Builder

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 201.

While in Paris, Molyvann participated in conferences held by Le Corbusier (one of the

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 202-203.

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 205.

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 51.

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 36.

Helen Grant Ross and Darryl Leon Collins

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 12.

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 129.

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 208.

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 202.

Madame Paulines studies assisted Sihanouk in incorporating environmental designs in

The Paris of the East

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 7.

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 16.

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 212-217.

Leifer, The Search for Security, 7.

Sihanouk promoted a high standard of architecture which also sparked a movement

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 262.

The boulevards, monuments, government buildings, universities, theatres and sports

Ross and Collins, New Khmer Architecture, 212.

Sihanouk, Cambodia Neutral: The Dictate of Necessity, 583.

Sihanouk, Cambodia Neutral: The Dictate of Necessity, 583.

I realized that my resignation will be considered a moral victory by

Sihanouk, My War with the CIA, 84.

everything possible to help a neighbor threatened by imperialism was a

In 1956, Cambodias Fourth National Congress approved a formal and permanent

Sihanouk, War and Hope, 58.

Reddi, A Study of Cambodia's Neutralism, 201.

Osborne, Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness, 162.

AFP, Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia's mercurial ex-king.

Knox, Vann Molyvann: My Legacy Will Disappear.